A power distribution feeder, where a heterogeneous set of distributed energy resources is deployed, is examined by simulation. The energy resources include PV, battery storage, natural gas GenSet, fuel cells, and active thermal storage for commercial buildings. The resource scenario considered is one that may exist in a not too distant future. Two cases of interaction between different resources are examined. One interaction involves a GenSet used to partially offset the duty cycle of a smoothing battery connected to a large PV system. The other example involves the coordination of twenty thermal storage devices, each associated with a commercial building. Storage devices are intended to provide maximum benefit to the building, but it is shown that this can have a deleterious effect on the overall system, unless the action of the individual storage devices is coordinated. A network based approach is also introduced to calculate some type of effectiveness metric to all available resources which take part in coordinated operation. The main finding is that it is possible to achieve synergy between DERs on a system; however this required a unified strategy to coordinate the action of all devices in a decentralized way. 1. Introduction As the electric utility industry enters an increasingly competitive environment, utilities must concern themselves with the market value of the services they provide and the cost of providing those services. At the same time utilities are still burdened with the obligation to serve their customers with adequate reliability. Utilities must undertake new investments in demand-side resources to meet this obligation [1]. Distributed energy resources (DERs) have demonstrated potential advantages to address the challenges utilities are facing. Photovoltaic generation (PV), fuel cell (FC), battery energy storage (BES), natural gas powered GenSet (NGPG), wind turbine, thermal storage (TS), and micro-CHP (combined heat and power) are exemplary DERs technologies successfully deployed at power distribution level. On the other hand, in light of increased needs for both energy efficiency and high reliability the microgrids are gaining increasing interest. A microgrid is a collection of DERs that from the viewpoint of the utility is controllable, acts as a single load, and is able to function in both grid-tied and islanded modes [2]. Recent trends in small-scale distributed generation particularly drastic price reductions of PV and small wind turbines will soon result in high penetration levels of variable generation, some of which are not
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